Forest Service says Rosemont Final Environmental Impact Statement set for Nov., pushing Record of Decision into 2014

Posted on September 16, 2013 by admin

The Coronado National Forest today announced that the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Rosemont copper project will be released in November and subject to new Forest Service regulations calling for additional consultation with stakeholders before the Record of Decision can be released.

Under the new consultation regulations that go into effect Sept. 27, the Record of Decision (ROD) for the mile-wide, half-mile deep open-pit copper mine will be released between 90 and 120 days after the FEIS is published sometime in November, according to the Coronado National Forest’s latest timeline.

The regulations allow individuals and organizations that submitted timely comments in the preparation of the environmental reports an opportunity to file objections to the FEIS within 45 days after it is published in the Arizona Daily Star. The Forest Service will have 45 days to review the objections, with an option to extend the review period another 30 days. Continue reading →

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Tohono O’odham asks U.S. Agriculture Secretary to “stop” Forest Service’s effort to expedite Rosemont permitting

Posted on August 28, 2013 by admin

The Tohono O’odham Nation has asked U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to stop the Coronado National Forest’s efforts to expedite the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and associated Record of Decision (ROD) for the proposed Rosemont copper mine.

“The Tohono O’odham Nation recently learned that the Forest Service plans to issue a Record of Decision on this matter at the end of September,” the nation’s Aug. 20 letter to Vilsack states. “This deadline certainly came as a shock to the Nation, as no such date had been previously mentioned.”

“This sudden urgency is simply unwarranted,” Tohono O’odham Nation Chairman Ned Norris Jr. stated in the letter that was cosigned by Frances Stephens, chairperson of the Nation’s Cultural Preservation Committee.

Norris requested a meeting with Coronado National Forest Supervisor Jim Upchurch in September to discuss the tribe’s concerns over the Rosemont project.

“We would hope that any Record of Decision could be delayed to ensure that the Coronado National Forest is able to hear the concerns of tribal leaders before making a decision,” Norris states. Continue reading →

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Toronto stock analyst issues sell rating, lowers target price for Augusta in wake of lawsuit challenging key water permit

Posted on August 21, 2013 by admin

Toronto-based Dundee Securities Tuesday lowered its target price for Augusta Resource Corporation to $2.30 and reaffirmed its “sell” rating for what it calls a “high risk” stock.

Dundee cited a lawsuit filed Friday by a coalition of environmental groups and private citizens challenging the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality’s issuance of an aquifer protection permit as an example of what it believes will be continued local opposition to the project.

“The local county where Rosemont is located has said it will pursue action in the courts in an effort to impede further progress,” Dundee stated. “This lawsuit shows that they are not kidding.” Continue reading →

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Rosemont mine opponents file lawsuit challenging key water permit needed to begin construction of copper project

Posted on August 19, 2013 by admin

Opponents of the proposed Rosemont copper mine Friday filed a lawsuit challenging the issuance of a key state water permit needed to begin construction of the open-pit copper mine in the Santa Rita Mountains southeast of Tucson.

The lawsuit, filed in Maricopa County Superior Court, challenges a decision by the Arizona Water Quality Appeals Board (AWQAB) to uphold the issuance of an Aquifer Protection Permit (APP) to the Rosemont Copper Company. Rosemont is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vancouver, B.C.-based Augusta Resource Corporation.

The lawsuit alleges that the three-member appeals board acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” by voting to uphold an administrative law judge’s June 12 rejection of an earlier appeal challenging the APP permit.

The lawsuit, filed by private citizens and environmental groups opposed to the mine that would be constructed in a watershed that provides recharge to a primary drinking water aquifer, alleges the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) issued the permit without taking into account the mine’s impact on surface waters. Continue reading →

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Forest Service’s environmental report for Rosemont Mine draws fire from Pima County and Southern Arizona U.S. Representatives

Posted on August 16, 2013 by admin

The Coronado National Forest’s proposed final environmental impact study for the Rosemont copper mine is drawing sharp criticism from Pima County’s top administrator. and two U.S. Congressmen from southern Arizona.

Pima County is demanding that a new study be prepared in written comments submitted in response to the CNF’s proposed Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the massive copper mine.

“Relying upon this document for your decision as to whether to permit the mine’s destruction of thousands of acres of public Forest land, will surely result in lengthy challenges,” Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry states in an Aug. 14 letter to the CNF Supervisor Jim Upchurch. Continue reading →

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